Album Review: The Darkness – Dreams On Toast
3 min read
At this point in their career, The Darkness have reached cult rock status. Releasing great album after great album since their breakthrough album Permission To Land, some may have sadly flown under the radar for even fans of the debut. Hot Cakes, Pinewood Smiles, and even 2021’s Motorheart come to mind as some of the crème de la crème of the band’s back catalogue. After a wave of resurgence, however, with their hit single I Believe In A Thing Called Love rising through the US rock charts thanks to none other than Taylor Swift, and the band’s undying love and care for their ever-rejuvenating fan base, new album Dreams On Toast has all the backing to become one of their biggest to date.
Rock and Roll Party Cowboy feels like the perfect way to start the album. Singer Justin Hawkins lists off rockstar cliques in the verses under heavy classic rock riffs, before making way for a solo mid-verse. The chorus is tongue-in-cheek, ‘I’m a rock and roll party cowboy; and I ain’t gonna read no Tolstoy’, and the music is biting. If you can get on board, what awaits you is a much more nuanced affair. I Hate Myself is a blazing rock ’n’ roll anthem, complete with sax counter-melodies and harmonies guitar lines, while Hot On My Tail opens with a choral passage, followed by a complicated harmonised vocal arrangement that leads into a jaunty, country-tinged acoustic tune. The saloon piano and raw percussion in the solo, as well as the layered backing vocals makes this track an early highlight, somewhere between The Beatle’s Rocky Racoon and Neil Young’s latest releases.
Mortal Dread is a return to unfettered rock, but surprises with a grandiose bridge that shifts things into a theatrical direction. Gregorian chants and stabbing keys lean into the mortality angle. Don’t Need Sunshine is an unassuming piano ballad, while The Longest Kiss bounces along with a satisfying mix of pianos and electric riffs. The Battle For Gadget Land is a ferocious rocker with a lyrical message about giving in to the technology that surrounds us. Justin somehow manages to pull off a rhythmically entertaining, Horrible History’s-esc rap verse before gliding into an electric mandolin solo. At this point on the record, anything is possible.
Cold Hearted Woman is another foray into country, fiddles and stomping leading the charge, while Walking Through Fire delves into Justin’s feeling on the band, and possibly the music, as a whole. ‘We’re only doing this ‘cuz it’s fun; Don’t even think my mum brought the last one’. It again highlights the attitude that the band has towards their career; we’re gonna do it anyway! The final track Weekend In Rome begins softly with a spoken word passage about a dream, before Justin takes over with his account of a weekend away. It’s a perfectly extra and somewhat bizarre conclusion to an experience that is equal parts spectacular and surprising.
Dreams On Toast captures the glam of the mid-70s, melding Queen, Led Zeppelin, and ELO into an infatuating concoction. Their typically tight riffs, punching drums, and satisfying bass lines are all present and correct, with a clean production that gives every instruments its moment to shine. Not only is it another triumph, but it has some of the most instrumentally rich and lyrically witty songs from The Darkness to date. Each member has brought their all to this, and it shows.
Writer and Musician, Ryan Bulbeck has been published with a number of online publications, and has worked with a myriad of great artists, both as a performer, and as a producer. His most recent band The 295 are still active, playing shows around the UK.
